Two movies, unrelated
Aug. 31st, 2025 04:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethThis morning I watched Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
then this afternoon I watched Wicked.
Aquaman was very underwater whoosh booms, but I thoroughly disagree with the theme thing where they were all
family is important, forgive your brother, you can rely on family!
I mean personally I feel that when someone has done a bit of murder and has attempted to kill you, you are allowed to leave him in prison. Not torture prison, that was not okay, but a general prison shaped future seems reasonable.
I am also not a fan of the thing where characters 'earn' their freedom by killing the right people this time. That seems of the bad also.
So I cannot say I liked this movie.
It did do the whoosh booms a lot with interesting visuals though. Points for effort.
... rereading this I realise I might be having problems with the genre conventions of both superhero and royalty movies. someone else might be better able to review it for what it was actually doing then.
Wicked didn't work for me. I do not usually watch musicals and I think I am not good at it. Like, Defying Gravity made me have many feelings, but basically all the rest of the movie my feeling was
why is this a singing
silly singing people.
... this is not a flaw of the movie musical, obviously.
So all I can conclude is I haven't got the hang of watching musicals
which is not actually surprising given how often I give up on sound and just watch with the subtitles on.
But I tried two new to me things so the day is not wasted.
then this afternoon I watched Wicked.
Aquaman was very underwater whoosh booms, but I thoroughly disagree with the theme thing where they were all
family is important, forgive your brother, you can rely on family!
I mean personally I feel that when someone has done a bit of murder and has attempted to kill you, you are allowed to leave him in prison. Not torture prison, that was not okay, but a general prison shaped future seems reasonable.
I am also not a fan of the thing where characters 'earn' their freedom by killing the right people this time. That seems of the bad also.
So I cannot say I liked this movie.
It did do the whoosh booms a lot with interesting visuals though. Points for effort.
... rereading this I realise I might be having problems with the genre conventions of both superhero and royalty movies. someone else might be better able to review it for what it was actually doing then.
Wicked didn't work for me. I do not usually watch musicals and I think I am not good at it. Like, Defying Gravity made me have many feelings, but basically all the rest of the movie my feeling was
why is this a singing
silly singing people.
... this is not a flaw of the movie musical, obviously.
So all I can conclude is I haven't got the hang of watching musicals
which is not actually surprising given how often I give up on sound and just watch with the subtitles on.
But I tried two new to me things so the day is not wasted.
Constantine
Aug. 30th, 2025 12:07 pmbeccaelizabethToday I watched
City of Demons
and House of Mystery.
These are the first things I've watched that are not Doctor Who in... a while.
Checking the tags for films movies television here says the latest not Doctor Who thing was October 2023.
... possibly I need to vary my visual diet some. (though obviously you can vary your DW diet a lot just by watching slightly different DW.)
I read about these two animated movies when I looked up what Matt Ryan has been doing, because the voices. They're very different sorts of thing. Different ratings, and City of Demons is movie length where House of Mystery is a short.
Actually House of Mystery is four shorts but I see why they don't mention the others in the title because they are. Bad.
City of Demons is very anatomical and messy. Heaps of red brown goo everywhere. Lumpy bits.
It's actually a bit boring when that's the focus because that's not where the horror lives, that's just, like, paint.
There does manage to be quite a bit of horror too though, and a new to me take on The Newcastle Incident that is... considerably dark. ( Read more... )
It's a movie that seems to think the main threat of demons is they like making people into ketchup.
Could therefore be better.
But it had enough good bits and certainly delivered the ketchup.
House of Mystery got a bit repetitive fast but I did quite like the ending.
I did not like the art. It did a weird thing where it went back and forth between drawing John like he was in City of Demons and drawing him all pointy chinned and the wrong colors? It was distracting.
The actual plot ( Read more... )
It adds up to an okay story but I do feel I have overpaid for Mystery and got my money's worth for City.
Only now I want to disassemble them for parts and do them properly in a more Legends compatible way, which is the problem with multiple canons, the good bits version is ... very distributed.
ETA: Having gone on wiki and read a bunch of plot summaries for animated stuff
House of Mystery now makes more specific sense
it is bridging two particular Justice League Dark movies
and I have no desire to actually watch that Justice League Dark stuff
because it reads like a super epic crossover
like everyone has a minute for their bit of the story
and you need to know all about them already before you can keep up
but these Dark people are reboots away from anything I've read.
Also it read like Constantine destroys+reboots the multiverse there?
Which is a lot.
The more I read the more I think it is a mistake to make him Iconic in a sliding timeline, he gets stuck at the Fuck Around phase of his life when rather a lot of the point happened in Find Out.
It's like they think the grimdark is power, not tragedy.
So there's more I could be watching but at the moment I do not think I shall.
City of Demons
and House of Mystery.
These are the first things I've watched that are not Doctor Who in... a while.
Checking the tags for films movies television here says the latest not Doctor Who thing was October 2023.
... possibly I need to vary my visual diet some. (though obviously you can vary your DW diet a lot just by watching slightly different DW.)
I read about these two animated movies when I looked up what Matt Ryan has been doing, because the voices. They're very different sorts of thing. Different ratings, and City of Demons is movie length where House of Mystery is a short.
Actually House of Mystery is four shorts but I see why they don't mention the others in the title because they are. Bad.
City of Demons is very anatomical and messy. Heaps of red brown goo everywhere. Lumpy bits.
It's actually a bit boring when that's the focus because that's not where the horror lives, that's just, like, paint.
There does manage to be quite a bit of horror too though, and a new to me take on The Newcastle Incident that is... considerably dark. ( Read more... )
It's a movie that seems to think the main threat of demons is they like making people into ketchup.
Could therefore be better.
But it had enough good bits and certainly delivered the ketchup.
House of Mystery got a bit repetitive fast but I did quite like the ending.
I did not like the art. It did a weird thing where it went back and forth between drawing John like he was in City of Demons and drawing him all pointy chinned and the wrong colors? It was distracting.
The actual plot ( Read more... )
It adds up to an okay story but I do feel I have overpaid for Mystery and got my money's worth for City.
Only now I want to disassemble them for parts and do them properly in a more Legends compatible way, which is the problem with multiple canons, the good bits version is ... very distributed.
ETA: Having gone on wiki and read a bunch of plot summaries for animated stuff
House of Mystery now makes more specific sense
it is bridging two particular Justice League Dark movies
and I have no desire to actually watch that Justice League Dark stuff
because it reads like a super epic crossover
like everyone has a minute for their bit of the story
and you need to know all about them already before you can keep up
but these Dark people are reboots away from anything I've read.
Also it read like Constantine destroys+reboots the multiverse there?
Which is a lot.
The more I read the more I think it is a mistake to make him Iconic in a sliding timeline, he gets stuck at the Fuck Around phase of his life when rather a lot of the point happened in Find Out.
It's like they think the grimdark is power, not tragedy.
So there's more I could be watching but at the moment I do not think I shall.
DW 12 Bill Nardole Missy
Aug. 29th, 2025 12:37 pmbeccaelizabethI have watched the Doctor Who season with 12 and Bill. And Nardole. ( Read more... )
I remain really angry about what they did with Bill.
And just sort of Tired about what they did with Missy.
It's comic book logic, returning things to the box when done with the toys, and it's the wrong kind of mess.
As for the regeneration episode... big feels but. Many disagreements.
Anyway: This season isn't the one I hang out in in my head. I'm all the way back with Torchwood and Jack in most of my imagines, which gets ever further into the past. I think I didn't have as much concentrate available for it as it deserved on first broadcast. I like it better now I've rewatched.
But on race it could do better.
I remain really angry about what they did with Bill.
And just sort of Tired about what they did with Missy.
It's comic book logic, returning things to the box when done with the toys, and it's the wrong kind of mess.
As for the regeneration episode... big feels but. Many disagreements.
Anyway: This season isn't the one I hang out in in my head. I'm all the way back with Torchwood and Jack in most of my imagines, which gets ever further into the past. I think I didn't have as much concentrate available for it as it deserved on first broadcast. I like it better now I've rewatched.
But on race it could do better.
The Man Who Fell from the Moon
Aug. 28th, 2025 01:50 pmandriiartwork
The Man Who Fell from the Moon. 37х27 cm.
Людина, що впала з Місяця. 37х27 см. Папір Canson 300 gr/m
(no subject)
Aug. 26th, 2025 01:28 ambeccaelizabethI think I did pretty good at shopping yesterday
we went to the supermarket and bought both the food items I needed for the week (eggs) and the non food items that improve things (pants)
and my support worker was super helpful and had brought her reading glasses when I thought I didn't need reading glasses but the print is so so tiny
so even though the shop had Maximum People for bank holiday
I did the shopping pretty good.
Then somehow I slept until quarter to midnight.
I mean I was expecting to get home and get a 'night's' sleep
but that was
like
once around the clock.
People is exhausting.
But I have interesting eggs and a good plan for my food week
so I'm doing pretty okay.
we went to the supermarket and bought both the food items I needed for the week (eggs) and the non food items that improve things (pants)
and my support worker was super helpful and had brought her reading glasses when I thought I didn't need reading glasses but the print is so so tiny
so even though the shop had Maximum People for bank holiday
I did the shopping pretty good.
Then somehow I slept until quarter to midnight.
I mean I was expecting to get home and get a 'night's' sleep
but that was
like
once around the clock.
People is exhausting.
But I have interesting eggs and a good plan for my food week
so I'm doing pretty okay.
(no subject)
Aug. 22nd, 2025 05:53 ambeccaelizabethToday I read
Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St John Mandel.
It's very literary.
It did not seem like science fiction to me at any point. Whatever it is I read SF for just wasn't there. It seemed spot on plausible about what it was like being an author on a book tour, but only if you assume nothing about that will change, which is a Choice. It seemed to fit with the book being about things not happening and nothing changing.
I think I am going to give it away.
Also, and this is petty, the choice of font and spacing made me feel like there was much less book in that book than advertised. Like sure, it is clearly legible, but, there is a lot of page around that print.
Did not enjoy.
Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St John Mandel.
It's very literary.
It did not seem like science fiction to me at any point. Whatever it is I read SF for just wasn't there. It seemed spot on plausible about what it was like being an author on a book tour, but only if you assume nothing about that will change, which is a Choice. It seemed to fit with the book being about things not happening and nothing changing.
I think I am going to give it away.
Also, and this is petty, the choice of font and spacing made me feel like there was much less book in that book than advertised. Like sure, it is clearly legible, but, there is a lot of page around that print.
Did not enjoy.
Paladin's Grace, T Kingfisher
Aug. 21st, 2025 10:15 ambeccaelizabethToday I read Paladin's Grace, start to finish I think.
It was much more of a kissing book than I was really in the mood for. And yet as a kissing book it had frustrating intrusions from fighty or detective plot. Which to my mind could have been resolved more thoroughly outside of summary, but that kind of balanced clues paid off pacing was for the kissing plot.
Basically if I start again knowing what kind of book it is in advance I'll probably like it better.
It did have all the relevant keywords on the back but I didn't know the parameters so it was never quite what I expected.
I like the writing and the characters though. And the religious setup. Compelling.
It did keep reminding me of Hulk fanfic and leaving me uncomfortable for the same reasons of never being quite sure what this author thinks are the good bits. It was okay by the end though.
I think I shall buy more Kingfisher books, but I don't feel the need to pick up another straight away.
It was much more of a kissing book than I was really in the mood for. And yet as a kissing book it had frustrating intrusions from fighty or detective plot. Which to my mind could have been resolved more thoroughly outside of summary, but that kind of balanced clues paid off pacing was for the kissing plot.
Basically if I start again knowing what kind of book it is in advance I'll probably like it better.
It did have all the relevant keywords on the back but I didn't know the parameters so it was never quite what I expected.
I like the writing and the characters though. And the religious setup. Compelling.
It did keep reminding me of Hulk fanfic and leaving me uncomfortable for the same reasons of never being quite sure what this author thinks are the good bits. It was okay by the end though.
I think I shall buy more Kingfisher books, but I don't feel the need to pick up another straight away.
(no subject)
Aug. 20th, 2025 09:49 pmbeccaelizabethI finished reading The Golden Key https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Key_(novel) .
It is still an extremely good book, which one always worries about when revisiting something from significant time ago.
This time of reading I could not like the ending though. Understand, sure, locking him in with only finite light makes a wonderful commentary on what he considers his Light that he thought should never fail. And after all the effort he put in to being a monster the horror ending fits. Plus the simple thing where people are starting to laugh at the idea of magic, so they won't see what is happening when the light goes out.
But.
We do not give people to the Shadow.
It never even once improves the world to be the ones that construct Hell.
Ends the story well, but leaves you thinking hard about the ethics of all of it.
Like the painting girl, the possibility of being a person nobody sees, like the painting that drives the ending, but the other way around. That very brief ending did include people trying to be kind though. Seeing, but not knowing how to help.
Story has a lot of excellent layers in.
I looked up where to buy a hardback of it though because a thousand pages in a paperback is looking a bit less robust than I would like. Sure it might be a decade before I read it again but I'd like it to be in one piece when I do. Shall think about it.
It is still an extremely good book, which one always worries about when revisiting something from significant time ago.
This time of reading I could not like the ending though. Understand, sure, locking him in with only finite light makes a wonderful commentary on what he considers his Light that he thought should never fail. And after all the effort he put in to being a monster the horror ending fits. Plus the simple thing where people are starting to laugh at the idea of magic, so they won't see what is happening when the light goes out.
But.
We do not give people to the Shadow.
It never even once improves the world to be the ones that construct Hell.
Ends the story well, but leaves you thinking hard about the ethics of all of it.
Like the painting girl, the possibility of being a person nobody sees, like the painting that drives the ending, but the other way around. That very brief ending did include people trying to be kind though. Seeing, but not knowing how to help.
Story has a lot of excellent layers in.
I looked up where to buy a hardback of it though because a thousand pages in a paperback is looking a bit less robust than I would like. Sure it might be a decade before I read it again but I'd like it to be in one piece when I do. Shall think about it.
(no subject)
Aug. 20th, 2025 05:50 pmthree_is_one Друг М. уже написала у себя, но мне тоже есть что рассказать. Дел становится все больше, а внимание у меня как было определенной емкости, так и осталось. И силу воли мне тоже подкручивать некуда уже. Поэтому нужно было придумать способ набора энергии вообще со всего. Даже с самых прозаичных вещей типа посуду помыть.
Утро у меня давно устоялось - проснулся, поставил кофе, вышел на террасу, продышался на море, сказал ему, какое оно прекрасное сегодня. Если кофе еще не готов - немного растяжки, и опять подышать. А там уже все дела дневные.
Потом я прицепил это к любой варке кофе, а это несколько раз в день. И заметил, что после "продышать" посуда как-то сама моется. Просто возникает в голове мысль "а почему бы не помыть пару тарелок, я все равно кофе жду".
После чего и появилась эта техника: начинаешь новое дело (даже просто позу меняешь) - продышись и сделай жест улучшения мира вокруг. Заканчиваешь - встал, подышал, нашел, за что сказать "спасибо", чему порадоваться, проверил, что там с энергией, прибыло, убыло, влезет еще пара дел или нужно закругляться.
Огромный плюс такой системы в том, что о ней не нужно помнить. Не нужно напоминать себе каждые два часа будильником - дыши, скажи спасибо, найди радость, проверь энергию. Никогда у меня это по будильнику не получалось, более того, если я в это время чем-то занят, я не буду это прерывать, просто отключу будильник.
А тут - все между делом, в перерывах и пока кофе варится.
И вот практикую я это уже несколько дней, потом мы созваниваемся с другом М., выясняем, что взялись за одно и то же практически одновременно, как будто инструкцию сбросили на всех, кто сумеет ее прочитать.
И позавчера валюсь. Температура, слабость, все болит, лежи, не вставай, гори.
Ну, я с этим телом уже не первый год, и с такой внезапной немочью тоже не первый раз.
Поэтому я сходил, пока еще мог ходить, за лимоном, имбирем и медом. И день отпаивал бедное тело, а оно температуру накручивало. Так что на второй день все-таки пришлось поить его таблетками.
И два дня я дышал и говорил "спасибо". Что жара упала и в спальне прохладно. Что есть близкий друг, который принесет куриных ног и сунет их в мультиварку. Что у меня есть эта самая мультиварка. Что горло больше не болит. Что пошел дождь и полил всех на террасе.
Лежал, горел, дышал и благодарил.
Примерно двое суток.
Сегодня как огурчик.
Перетасовка.
Утро у меня давно устоялось - проснулся, поставил кофе, вышел на террасу, продышался на море, сказал ему, какое оно прекрасное сегодня. Если кофе еще не готов - немного растяжки, и опять подышать. А там уже все дела дневные.
Потом я прицепил это к любой варке кофе, а это несколько раз в день. И заметил, что после "продышать" посуда как-то сама моется. Просто возникает в голове мысль "а почему бы не помыть пару тарелок, я все равно кофе жду".
После чего и появилась эта техника: начинаешь новое дело (даже просто позу меняешь) - продышись и сделай жест улучшения мира вокруг. Заканчиваешь - встал, подышал, нашел, за что сказать "спасибо", чему порадоваться, проверил, что там с энергией, прибыло, убыло, влезет еще пара дел или нужно закругляться.
Огромный плюс такой системы в том, что о ней не нужно помнить. Не нужно напоминать себе каждые два часа будильником - дыши, скажи спасибо, найди радость, проверь энергию. Никогда у меня это по будильнику не получалось, более того, если я в это время чем-то занят, я не буду это прерывать, просто отключу будильник.
А тут - все между делом, в перерывах и пока кофе варится.
И вот практикую я это уже несколько дней, потом мы созваниваемся с другом М., выясняем, что взялись за одно и то же практически одновременно, как будто инструкцию сбросили на всех, кто сумеет ее прочитать.
И позавчера валюсь. Температура, слабость, все болит, лежи, не вставай, гори.
Ну, я с этим телом уже не первый год, и с такой внезапной немочью тоже не первый раз.
Поэтому я сходил, пока еще мог ходить, за лимоном, имбирем и медом. И день отпаивал бедное тело, а оно температуру накручивало. Так что на второй день все-таки пришлось поить его таблетками.
И два дня я дышал и говорил "спасибо". Что жара упала и в спальне прохладно. Что есть близкий друг, который принесет куриных ног и сунет их в мультиварку. Что у меня есть эта самая мультиварка. Что горло больше не болит. Что пошел дождь и полил всех на террасе.
Лежал, горел, дышал и благодарил.
Примерно двое суток.
Сегодня как огурчик.
Перетасовка.
(no subject)
Aug. 18th, 2025 08:52 pmbeccaelizabethI have been reading paper books and they take a lot longer than audios
partly because I get distracted and stare into space more
but also because The Golden Key is over a thousand pages
and looking that up is the first time this reread I noticed the translations in the back
which... is actually working okay, they do make enough sense without, but.
ANYway
the weather is better, the duck pond was nice today, and I am mostly reading paper this week.
partly because I get distracted and stare into space more
but also because The Golden Key is over a thousand pages
and looking that up is the first time this reread I noticed the translations in the back
which... is actually working okay, they do make enough sense without, but.
ANYway
the weather is better, the duck pond was nice today, and I am mostly reading paper this week.